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of 3): An Introduction
Description: The background and context in which the letter was written, the message it
contained and how it was received.
By Jeremy Boulter (© 2006 IslamReligion.com)
Published on 28 Aug 2006 - Last modified on 10 Nov 2013
Category: Articles >Evidence Islam is Truth > Evidence of Muhammad's Prophethood
Category: Articles >The Prophet Muhammad > Evidence of His Prophethood
The Letter
The letter Muhammad sent is incorporated in the narration of Abu Sufyan, and I
reproduce it below word for word as Heraclius read it out before all his Grandees.
This letter is from Muhammad the slave of God and His Messenger to Heraclius, the ruler of the
Byzantines.
I am writing this invitation to call you to Islam.[2] If you become a Muslim you will be safe - and
In contrast to Khosrau II, who had been sent a similar letter earlier, the Byzantine
Emperor Heraclius kept the letter and sought to find confirmation concerning what it
contained. This is quite different to the treatment accorded to his letter to Khosrau II of
the Sassinid Empire. According to Abdullah ibn Abbas, the latter was sent with Abdullah
ibn Hudhafa al-Sahmi by way of the Governor of Bahrain.
"So, when Khosrau read the letter he tore it up. Saeed ibn al-Musaiyab said, 'The Prophet then
invoked God to destroy and disperse Khosrau and his followers fully and with severity". (Saheeh
Al-Bukhari)
The Sassinid Empire was to utterly dissolve almost immediately, first through the
defeat by the Romans, and then by the onslaught of the new Muslim nation. The
Byzantine Empire, too, while still under Heraclius, dissolved in Egypt, Palestine and
Syria. However, unlike the Sassinid Empire, the Byzantine Empire continued on in
various forms for another 800 years until Constantinople finally fell, and this may be
because of the contrast in the way each of the letters was received.
Endnotes:
[1] Heraclius. (2006). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved August 22, 2006, from
Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service.
[2] That none has right to worship but God, and Muhammad is His Messenger.
[4] This letter is preserved in some history books, and a plate of the original letter was included
in Khan, Dr. Majid Ali (1998). Muhammad The Final Messenger. Islamic Book Service, New Delhi,
110002 (India). One of his letters to Christian rulers is preserved in Topkapi Museum, Istanbul.
ajsultan